Summary:
The survivors hold an impromptu funeral for Amy. Shane says he loved Amy because she always had something to say. Donna also says how Amy and her may have not gotten along, but she loved her. She states how she loves everyone and that everyone loved Amy. Jim even speaks and says nobody deserves to die like this and that she should have lived her life and been able to go back and finish college. Rick and Dale also bring forth their sadness. While everybody leaves, Andrea is still crying over Amy’s grave.
Jim’s health starts to deteriorate after being bitten by a zombie during the camp attack. He tells Donna about his garage boss, who he says was the first person he saw turn. Jim thinks he’s lucky because his boss turned in a couple of hours and he has lasted more than a day. Donna suggests that maybe it won’t happen to Jim and then exits the tent where Jim is staying due to the bite. Allen asks how he is, and Donna says that he’s worse. She tells him Dale’s wife turned in half a day. They both hope Jim doesn’t turn into a zombie.
Meanwhile Rick, Carl, and Shane go hunting and Carl tells Rick that they don’t need as much food, because Amy is dead and Jim is too sick to eat. Shane yells at Rick saying it wasn’t his fault. Rick tells him they should have left the camp when they had a chance. Shane still thinks the army is going to save them. The two have quite a fight. Carl gets upset, starts crying and runs off. Rick goes after him. Meanwhile, Dale is trying to cheer Andrea up. Jim is getting worse and the end is near. He has a final request and Donna informs the group. They bring him to Atlanta and leave him under a tree where he tells them to leave him, and he hopes he will be with his family once again. They say their goodbyes and then depart.
The following day they wake up and Shane tells Rick to get ready to go hunting. Rick tells Carl to stay at camp so that he and Shane can talk. Shane starts yelling at Rick and punches him. Lori then punches Shane, and calls him a lunatic, which causes Shane to mentally snap and run off. Everyone at camp is shocked at Shane’s attack on Rick. Lori is upset as well, and several people try to calm her. Rick follows Shane, and Carl follows his father. Dale asks Lori if she is okay, and she replies, saying that they’ll never be normal again at this rate. Rick catches up to Shane and Shane starts yelling at Rick about ripping his heart out of his chest. He continues ranting about how he has nothing left and how Lori would have changed and loved him if Rick hadn’t returned. Shane then points his gun at Rick, and is about to shoot him when Carl shoots Shane in the neck. Shane dies, choking on his own blood. The book ends with Carl saying: “It’s not the same as killing the dead ones, Daddy”, and Rick replying, “It never should be, son. It never should be.”
Discussion / Thoughts:
Everyone is feeling the aftermath of Amy’s death and loss. She brought laughter and happiness and hope to those in the group. Without her presence these feelings and emotions won’t be felt as much. Jim even speaks. He rarely speaks. It highlights the significance of the loss of this character.
Jim’s bite is bad. He’s infected. He still holds a little hope because he didn’t turn as quickly as his boss. Sadly, he realizes that he has no hope. His final request is a sad one. He wants to be left by a tree near Atlanta. He thinks his family has turned into zombies and that if he becomes one close enough that they may be reunited. I do hope he gets his wish. But I don’t know if they will recognize each other. Instead they may all just be part of the horde together. Zombies recognize sound and smell. We don’t know yet if they have the ability to recognize individuals.
The Shane, Rick and Lori love triangle. It was never really a thing. Shane was trying to step in on his partner’s wife, Lori. All that changed when Rick showed up alive. Shane goes on a horrible rant. He’s lost touch with reality. He should never have been a police officer. The training they go through prepares them for all kinds of situations but he could not handle this one in any way. He built a fantasy that he and Lori were together now that Rick was dead. But Rick was never dead. He made people believe he was protecting them but he wasn’t. All he wanted was the government to come rescue them and end this nightmare. It’s been at least a month now since the world as we know it ended and there has been no rescue. Rick understood the reality that they needed to rescue themselves. Shane could not cope with that. I feel horrible that Carl had to end Shane’s life, but in this situation had he not, Shane would very likely have killed Rick to try and take Lori back. It’s a horrible thing that Carl will have to live with. Killing a human is very different from killing a zombie. He’s very right.
Categories: Podcasts, Wonder Woman Comic Book Podcast